What Can Happen If You Don't Prepare Your Eyes for Editing

Recently I put my eyes under a lot of pressure. There are habits that anybody should abide by, but sometimes it's not always easy to stick with them. What's the worst that can happen? 

We've all read and talked about eye strain. It's difficult to avoid, going from computer, to phone, and back. Wake up to your emails, commute with a Kindle, sit down at your desk, and do it all again on the way home — throwing in some Netflix for good measure. Is square eyes something to be concerned about, or is it hogwash?

A few months ago I found myself in a stupidly high pressure job. Freelancing as a graphic artist and editor, this job was only meant to last a few weeks, but cram a team's efforts into a single person. At the finish line I was working crazy hours to make the final cut. Going to work early, and getting to bed late; In the thick of it, I neglected to worry about my eyes. Kicking old habits aside that we all know and love, I found just why these tricks of the trade exist in the creative industry.

I’d been noticing eye strain as the job went on, but it wasn’t until a few days afterwards that I could clearly see what had happened. I couldn’t read a road sign that I’d normally have no trouble with. I also noticed that I couldn’t look over a colleague's shoulder at their iMac, and see the title of a video. “Should restaurant menus be that hard to read?” I’d asked myself. Often I’d find that my eyes couldn’t focus, even if I wanted them to. Squinting through the next few days, I realized that something should be done. Luckily, I was booked to shoot outdoors for the next couple weeks anyway, and before I knew it, I had my perfect vision back again.

A lesson learned that I should never let go of good habits. Now, I won’t bore anybody with the ins and outs of how our eyes work (I couldn’t tell you if I tried) but these are my four good habits. There may be more, but I’ve found that these do the job just fine.

Don’t Read a Book on the Train

Sure it’s educational, but your eyes are still only focusing a couple feet in front of you. Listen to a podcast if you want education. Above all, use your commute to give your eyes a break and try to glare as far away as you can to give them a good workout. This also applies to the weekend. Starting off your Saturday morning with Netflix can’t be healthy when you’ve been editing all week.

Turn the Lights On

Apparently you shouldn’t be looking at a computer screen in a dark room. Having another light source reduces your chances of eye strain. At times I’ve thought that the glowing Apple logo on the back of my laptop was enough, but a decent desk lamp or floor light does a much better job. I try to aim for tungsten balanced lights at night, which leads me to the next habit.

Turn Your Screen Tungsten

If the room you’re working in is lit with a yellowed hue of tungsten, then your computer should be matching that, not competing with it. Naturally, your screen is set to be as close to daylight balanced as it can get. The proof is in the pudding; Turn your screen to tungsten, get acclimated to it, and then switch back to daylight. It burns your eyes and becomes incredibly difficult to look at for a few seconds. This is why Apple’s latest version of iOS and Android have this built in. F.lux is also a wonderful application that can change the color temperature of your computer’s monitor as the sun gradually sets. You won’t even notice it change.

Warning: I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s made the mistake of color correcting and grading while f.lux is turned on. Since it’s so gradual, you won’t notice it until it’s too late. Remember to turn it off or wait until the morning.

Practice Focusing

Just like on the train, look up from your computer every 30 minutes or so. At first I was setting alarms for this, but now it’s habit. Just like a lens, I pull focus from the edge of my screen to the farthest point I can find. Put your eyes through a workout.

I hope that this article brings attention to how easy it is to damage our eyes. When you think about it, 10 years ago we didn’t have so many screens to keep looking at. I can imagine that somebody may be hearing about these tips for the first time. For everybody else, I hope you’re enjoying your 20/20 vision.